Economic Success in Brazil
December 23, 2010
Arianna Huffington writes about the incredible economic success in Brazil, how it signals the false dichotomy between 20th century definitions of left v. right, and how America is getting it wrong. An excerpt:
According to a study coordinated by Marcelo Neri, who heads the Center for Social Policies at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, between 2001 and 2009, the per capita income of the richest 10 percent of Brazilians grew 1.5 percent per year while the income of the poorest 10 percent grew 6.8 percent. "The most surprising aspect of the data," Neri told me when we had dinner Sunday night, "is that the historically most deprived groups, including blacks and those living in the northern parts of Brazil, have experienced the highest income growth."
Among the other greatest hits presided over by Lula: Wages have gone up more than 5 percent during his two terms; unemployment was cut in half; young people are staying in school longer; the inflation rate went from 12.5 percent a year to 5.6 percent; exports have more than tripled; and Brazil now has the eighth-largest economy in the world and is on track to grow 7.5 percent this year.
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